


A Night In

by Zetor



Category: Daria (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-17
Updated: 2017-10-17
Packaged: 2019-01-18 14:16:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12389760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zetor/pseuds/Zetor
Summary: A look into the Lane-Morgendorffer household in 2017; consisting of Quinn, Jane, and their two twin six year old girls.





	A Night In

Jane ran her fingers through her short hair as she looked over the ruin of a living room. She loved her girls, but they did more damage than an F5. Each. They'd somehow moved the tetherball pole from the backyard and stood it up in the center of the room. Several bed sheets had been connected with clothespins, knots, and something sticky that she really hoped would come out in the wash, then draped over the pole and tucked into the couches. Underneath, the floor was covered with stuffed animals, toys, and what looked like half the kitchen.

In her sternest mom voice, she called out, "Lacey! Elizabeth! Will you please come in here and tell me why my living room looks like a yard sale?"

Twins had not been the plan when she and Quinn had decided to expand their family. It had been stressful at first, not to mention a bit of a stretch financially, but they'd gotten through it. Now, six years later, Jane couldn't even imagine life with just one of her girls, even when they pulled stunts like this.

A few seconds later, two identical red haired blurs in matching sweaters came rocketing down the hall. The twins jumped and danced through the debris-strewn floor as if it was a flower field, looking like two rather manic pixies. They came to a screeching halt in front of Jane, giggling and bowing dramatically.

Jane crossed her arms and began to tap her foot. "I'm waiting."

Lacey stepped forward. She was older than her sister by seventeen minutes and more mature by about a year and a half, generally acting as the spokesperson for the two of them in situations like this. She looked up at her mother, put her hands on her hips, and exasperatedly said, "Geez. It's not a yard sale Momma Jane."

Elizabeth, Lizzy for short, was the more energetic of the two, which was saying something. She jumped up, throwing her arms in the air and shouted, "It's a circus!"

"We made it for when Aunt Daria comes over to play," Lacey explained matter-of-factly, while her sister just stared up with a proud gap-toothed grin.

Jane couldn't help but smile back as she shook her head. Lacey and Lizzy might look like two tiny Quinns, but they had the imagination, and talent for mischief, of Lanes. "You girls realize that Momma Quinn is going to come home before Daria comes over to watch you, right?"

"Great! Momma Quinn can watch the show too!" Lizzy exclaimed, grinning even wider.

Lacey, however, seemed to take the hint. Her eyes widened in realization and she turned to her sister. "Um, Lizzy, I think we might want to pack up the circus."

"Why would we do that, silly? We haven't put on our show yet!"

Lacey got a thoughtful look, then asked, "Remember when we turned our bedroom into a jungle with all the potted plants?"

Lizzy nodded vigorously. "When we met the lost tribe of the Pokiwapatu."

"Right," Lacey said patiently, "and that time we dropped Momma Quinn's jewelry in the pool?"

"And protected it from the dread pirate purple beard, scourge of the gumdrop seas!" Lizzy elaborated, jumping around and fencing an invisible foe.

"Do you remember what happened _after_? When Momma Quinn found out?" Lacey asked, clearly starting to grow impatient with her sister's obliviousness.

Lizzy stopped her imaginary duel and furrowed her brow in thought. Her eyes widened as a look of realization came across her face, a mirror of her sister's a few moments before. "Oh." Smiling sweetly up at Jane, she asked, "Um, Momma Jane? Can you maybe help us pack up the circus?"

Jane had been half listening to her daughters' conversation and half examining the "circus" they had erected. She looked down at her girls and smiled. "Nope, it's staying up."

The twins looked at each other, an unspoken conversation passing between them. When the girls reached a consensus, Lacey looked back up to Jane and asked, "Didn't you _want_ us to take it down?"

"I _did_ ," Jane explained, pausing for effect, "but, now that I see what you were going for, I've got a great idea for a painting." With that, she turned on her heel, and started toward her studio. "Lacey, go get the tarp so I don't ruin the carpet again. Lizzy, come carry my paints while I get my easel."

Lacey and Lizzy looked at each other again and shrugged, having long since learned there was nothing to do but go with it when their mom got inspired. They quickly split up and went to work at their assigned tasks, Lacey heading off to the garage and Lizzy hurrying to catch up with Jane.

 

* * *

 

Quinn breathed a sigh of relief as she got out of her car and walked toward the house. Work had been terrible. Things had generally been better since she quit her job downtown and started working with her father; her hours were more flexible and she didn't have to watch men who'd just gotten hired get promoted above her. Still, there were days where she had to deal with some bullheaded client that didn't actually want advice or her father had one of his fits. Today was both. She was looking forward to seeing her girls and having a nice night out with her wife; it was a rare treat, given how hard it was to find a sitter who would watch Lacey and Lizzy more than once.

When she opened the door, she found a scene that she wished wasn't quite so familiar. The living room was absolute chaos. Lacey and Lizzy had decided to redecorate again and were running around playing some kind of make-believe game. Instead of getting the girls to clean up, her lovely wife was standing in the corner painting the whole thing; at least she'd remembered to put something down underneath her canvas this time. All three of them were too wrapped up in what they were doing to even notice her come in the house.

Quinn walked up behind Jane and looked at what she was painting. It was a shadowed circus tent done in grays and deep blues, with glowing forms dancing on top of dusty abandoned circus equipment. Quinn cleared her throat and asked, "Jane, _sweetie_ , why does our living room look like a bomb went off?"

Jane jumped slightly, but managed not to mess up her brushstroke. Setting down her brush and palette, she slowly turned to face her wife, a guilty look on her face. "Well, you see, the girls wanted to put on a show for Daria when she comes over, and—"

"And you thought it would make a good painting," Quinn finished with a sigh.

Jane shrugged, having the decency to look a little sheepish. "What can I say? The little gremlins inspire me."

"Jane, you've got to set a better example. We can't just keep letting the girls run wild like this. They carried a metal pole attached to a block of cement into the living room!"

Jane gently put a hand on Quinn's arm. "Quinn, it's okay. I'll make sure Daria gets the girls to put everything back before she leaves. It'll all be neat and tidy by the time we get home."

"I don't care about things being neat," Quinn started, pausing when Jane shot her a skeptical look. "Okay, I do care, but that's not the point. The girls are six; they shouldn't be carrying around steel pipes."

Jane rolled her eyes. "Come on, when I was their age I was _welding_ steel pipes."

"You were not. Besides, I think we can both agree that your childhood wasn't exactly normal, or safe."

Before Jane could respond, a small worried voice cut in, "Are you fighting about us?"

Quinn looked down to find Lacey staring up at her, hands twisting the bottom of her sweater nervously. She bent down so that she was at eye level with her daughter and smiled. Running a comforting hand over Lacey's bright red hair, she said, "Of course not. We were just having a little… discussion, about when your aunt Daria comes over; that's all. Why don't you go play with your sister?"

Lacey considered her mother's words. She looked a bit skeptical at first, but seemed to accept them. She started to walk back to the tent, and then quickly twirled back around, face lit up with excitement, and asked, "Do you want to see our circus?"

Lizzy jumped up at the mention of someone watching the circus and ran up next to her sister, a stuffed lion dangling from her left hand. " _Please_ come watch Momma Quinn," she pleaded, stretching out the first word to adorable effect.

"Alright, alright," Quinn said, laughing. There was still a little time before she needed to start getting ready, and as long as everything was already a mess, she figured she might as well enjoy it. Lacey and Lizzy quickly pulled her and Jane out in front of the makeshift tent and sat them next to each other on the floor, the furniture having all been commandeered for the circus. As she watched the girls get everything ready, Quinn snuggled up to Jane, grabbed her arm, and dropped her head on her wife's shoulder.

Jane leaned over and kissed the top of Quinn's head, whispering, "I'm sorry."

Quinn snuggled into Jane and smiled as she watched her girls start their show.

 

* * *

 

Quinn stared into her bathroom mirror, trying to get her hair just right. It was so much easier when she was younger. That wasn't to say she didn't still look great; it just took a little more work these days. Sometimes she wished she could be like Jane; just throw on a jacket and a nice shirt, no makeup, and short hair that looked good without any work. She could never do it though. She'd always liked dressing up, even if it was tedious at times.

Stepping over to her full length, she took a look at herself and knew the work was worth it. The little black dress with a neckline just low enough to tease and a skirt that would flair nicely if they got the chance to do some dancing, hair pulled back into a calculatedly messy updo, makeup that struck that perfect balance between subtle and striking, and that little cute little silver bracelet Jane had gotten her a couple of years ago for Valentine's day that paired perfectly with her go-to silver earrings; everything came together perfectly.

The buzzing of her phone on the counter pulled her away from her reflection. Her sister's face and name showed up on the screen and she quickly picked it up and swiped to answer. Putting the phone to her ear, she said, "Hey, Daria. What's up? Shouldn't you be on the road by now?"

"About that…" came her sister's familiar monotone voice.

Quinn's stomach clenched. "What?" she asked in a mix of dread and frustration.

"I'm really sorry about this, but I can't come watch the twins tonight."

"Of course not," Quinn grumbled bitterly, looking back at the mirror and over an hour's work now down the drain, "Why should anything go _right_ today?"

"I'm really sorry, Quinn," Daria said sincerely. "If I could I would."

Quinn sighed and tore herself away from her reflection, walking into the bedroom and sitting down on the bed. "I know. I know you would. It's just been one of those days, that's all."

"Dad or Jane?" Daria asked with a hint of amusement.

Quinn managed to crack a smile. "Both, along with an idiot who apparently didn't understand that a consultant might actually recommend you _change_ a few things and two circus performers."

"Circus performers?"

Quinn chuckled. "Lacey and Lizzy. They decided to turn the living room into Barnum and Bailey's. You just managed to get out of cleanup duty."

"I got out of cleaning up? _That's_ ironic."

"Huh?"

"Keith has food poisoning. I'm over at his apartment taking care of him. It's why I can't come over," Daria explained.

"Wow, you must really like him."

Quinn could hear Daria blush. "It's not about liking him. There's no one else to take care of him. His roommate is out of town."

Quinn smirked. "I meant because you cooked for him. You never cook for a guy unless it's serious."

"Assuming that's true, what makes you think I cooked for him?" Daria asked defensively.

"Well, he does have food poisoning," Quinn said teasingly.

"Ugh. That would be a lot funnier if it weren't true."

"Sorry. Look, I've got to go break the news to Jane and the girls and get started cleaning up. Good luck with Keith."

"Thanks. I'm really sorry about this. Tell the girls I'll make it up to them," Daria said guiltily.

"I will. Bye, Daria."

"Bye, Quinn."

Quinn set her phone down on the bed and leaned back on her arms. She inhaled deeply, and then slowly exhaled. Not going out wasn't really a huge deal. It just felt bigger than it was after the day she'd had. Even though she knew that, it still _felt_ like a huge deal. She took another deep breath and pushed off the bed, heading off to explain to her daughters that their favorite aunt wouldn't be coming to watch their circus.

 

* * *

 

Lacey was having a great night. Building and planning the circus had been tons of fun; she was good at putting things together and Lizzy was great at making up stories. They'd even gotten to show Momma Quinn some of the show before she had to go get dressed and she hadn't even gotten mad. She knew her Aunt Daria was going to love it.

Right now, she and Lizzy were putting on the clown act for Momma Jane, who was recording it on her phone and asking lots of silly questions. She hadn't let them put on clown makeup, but Lacey was pretty sure she could convince Aunt Daria to; Aunt Daria let them do all kinds of stuff their moms didn't.

Lacey stopped what she was doing when her parents' bedroom door opened. Momma Quinn loved dressing up almost as much as Lizzy did, although she was usually less silly. She had on a fancy dress and some really pretty jewelry, but for some reason she didn't look happy.

Quinn walked over to where Jane was sitting with the twins and said, "Girls, Jane, I have some bad news."

Lizzy stopped performing and Jane lowered her phone, both looking up at Quinn. "What's wrong?" Jane asked her wife with concern.

Quinn sighed. "Something's come up and Daria can't come over tonight."

"Aunt Daria's not coming?" Lizzy asked, her crushed disbelief giving voice to Lacey's own feelings. She loved her Aunt Daria's visits.

Quinn crouched down to the twins' level. Taking one of each of her daughters' hands and giving them a gentle squeeze, she said, "I'm sorry girls; I know you were looking forward to this. Aunt Daria told me to tell you that she would make it up to you."

Jane's eyes narrowed. "What's her excuse?" she asked, her irritation with her longtime friend clear in her voice.

Quinn turned to her wife and smirked. "She has to take care of Keith. He has food poisoning."

Jane's face relaxed and she smirked back. "Wow, she cooked for him? I didn't realize they were that serious," Jane replied with a chuckle. "We'll have to invite them over once he gets better."

"We get to meet Aunt Daria's boyfriend?" Lizzy asked, perking up. Lacey stayed silent, staring at the ground. She was still upset, not as easily distracted as her sister.

"Maybe, sweetie. We'll have to wait and see," Quinn said, shooting Jane a look. Letting go of her daughter's hands, she stood up and looked around the room. "For now, we need to clean up the living room."

"Already?" Lizzy whined. Lacey stayed silent, but pouted.

Jane put a comforting hand on Lacey's shoulder and looked up at Quinn. "What's the hurry? It's not that late, just let the girls play for a while."

Quinn inhaled, then exhaled sharply. "If we don't get this cleaned up now, you and the girls will play until bedtime and either the living room will stay a mess or I'll end up cleaning it up myself."

Jane stood up to face her wife, a surprised look on her face. "Jeeze, Quinn, what's your problem?"

"Problem?" Quinn asked bitterly. "My _problem_ is that I go to work, deal with my crazy father and our idiot clients all day, then come home to find my living room turned into a circus. What were you doing while they were setting all this up? How did you not notice?"

Jane closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. Opening them, she said, "I was working, Quinn. In case you forgot, I do that too. I can't _always_ be watching the girls."

"They didn't exactly do this in a few minutes, Jane," Quinn said harshly, gesturing to the completely transformed room. "How did you not hear them emptying out the kitchen?"

Lacey felt a lump start to form in her throat as she looked from one parent to the other. She hated it when they fought. It didn't happen a lot, but when it did it was always really bad.

Jane threw her hands up in the air. "I don't know, okay? I screwed up! Sorry I'm not perfect like you!"

Quinn started angrily pacing the clear area of the floor. "You probably had your music up too loud to even hear the girls! You're just like your parents, going off into your own little world and ignoring your children."

Jane's eyes went wide, then narrowed to splits. "How _dare_ you," she growled. "I am _nothing_ like them! I am always here for my girls. Whenever they ever need me, I drop whatever I'm doing. If anyone is like their parents, it's you. You're a workaholic, just like your mother."

"Workaholic? I left a higher paying job to be closer to home and work _less_!"

"Oh, trust me, I know. You only remind me every other day!"

Lacey couldn't take any more and dashed out of the living room, tears silently making their way down her cheeks. She ran down the hall to her room and flopped down onto her bed, pulling her pillow over her head to drown out the yelling. She felt someone else get on the bed and peeked out, hoping that her parents had stopped fighting and one had come to tell her everything would be okay. Instead she found Lizzy, red-eyed and scared. Lacey reached out to her sister and pulled her down into a tight hug, adjusting the pillow to cover both their heads.

 

* * *

 

Lizzy lay awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling. The yelling had eventually stopped, followed by her parents' door slamming shut. Afterward, Momma Jane had come to tuck her and Lacey in. When she left, Lizzy heard her walk across the house to her studio instead of going to her and Momma Quinn's room.

Lizzy was scared. She couldn't stop thinking about Bobby from school. His parents used to fight and now they were divorced. He only saw his dad every other weekend. She didn't want to only see one of her moms every other weekend. She didn't want her family to fall apart.

"Hey, Lacey," Lizzy called as loud as she dared. When her sister didn't answer, she climbed out of her bed and walked across the room to Lacey's identical one. She shook the sleeping girl's shoulder and tried again, "Lacey, wake up."

Lacey slowly blinked her eyes and turned to look up at her sister. She let out a yawn and groggily mumbled, "Lizzy? What's going on?"

"Do you think Momma Jane and Momma Quinn are gonna get divorced?"

Lacey rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand as she sat up. In a more alert, but still confused, voice she asked, "What are you talking about?"

Lizzy let out an exasperated sigh. "Bobby's mom and dad used to fight a lot and then they got divorced, now _our_ moms are fighting. I don't want to only see one of them every other weekend," she explained, as if it was obvious.

"I don't think our moms are going to get divorced," Lacey said, almost defensively.

"Why not?" Lizzy pushed.

Lacey took a moment to reply, absently chewing her bottom lip in thought. "Bobby's parents fought all the time. Momma Jane and Momma Quinn only fight every once in a while. It's not the same," she explained, sounding like she was trying to convince herself as much as her sister.

"It was really bad though," Lizzy said in a small worried voice.

"It was," Lacey agreed in the same small voice.

A quiet moment passed between the two, then Lizzy perked up and almost shouted, "We should do something to– "

Lacey jerked forward and clamped her hand over Lizzy's mouth, muffling the rest of her sentence. The older twin raised a finger to her lips and shushed her sister. After a long moment of silently listening for their parents, Lacey let out a breath of relief and pulled back her hand.

"Sorry," Lizzy whispered, blushing. "I was going to say we should do something to help them make up."

"Like what?"

Lizzy shrugged. "I don't know; you always make up the plans."

Lacey sighed. "Okay, let me think." She put her hand on her chin and tilted her head. After a few moments of thought, she said, "I've got it. This all happened because they couldn't go out to dinner, right?"

Lizzy thought for a moment, then shrugged again. "I guess so."

"Right, so all we have to do is make them dinner," Lacey explained, now wide-awake and getting caught up in her planning. "We can set it up on the table in the backyard and put on some of that old music they like; there's some on the tablet. Then we'll each go wake one of them up and take them outside."

Lizzy was starting to get excited as well. She loved her sister's plans; they were always fun, and this one was gonna help their moms. Bouncing on her toes, she said, "I'll get Momma Jane."

"Okay, but first we have to get ready. Let's go to the kitchen, _quietly_."

Lizzy stopped bouncing and nodded solemnly, following her sister as she got out of bed and carefully made her way out of their room.

 

* * *

 

"Momma Quinn, Momma Quinn," Lacey called insistently, her small hands shaking her mother awake from where she stood at the side of the bed.

Quinn slowly opened her eyes and reached over to wake up Jane, only to find the other side of the bed empty. The events of the evening flooded into her mind, and she felt sick to her stomach. She hated fighting with her wife; neither one of them was the type to back down, and their arguments always ended up spiraling out of control. Pushing her thoughts aside as best she could, she rolled over to face her daughter and asked, "What's wrong, sweetie?"

"Lizzy's gone."

Quinn sat bolt upright, suddenly wide-awake. She swung her legs out from under the covers and was on her feet in seconds. She grabbed her daughter by the shoulders and, as calmly as her growing panic allowed, asked, "What happened? Do you remember anything?"

Lacey bit her lip and looked down. "I don't know. She was really worried about you and Momma Jane."

Quinn felt like she'd been struck. She couldn't hold her stupid temper and now one of her girls was missing. Jane had been right; she was turning into one of her parents, just not her mother. A sniffle from Lacey broke Quinn from her thoughts. She quickly composed herself and reached down to pick up her daughter, which was not as easy as it used to be. Bouncing her slightly, she softly said, "Hey, it's okay. We'll find Lizzy. She's probably just with Momma Jane. Let's go look, okay?"

Lacey kept her head down, but nodded and made a small sound of assent.

 

* * *

 

Jane readjusted herself for what felt like the hundredth time, trying to get comfortable on the couch she kept in her studio. She didn't normally have any trouble sleeping on it; she'd spent the night there plenty of times without a problem when she got caught up in her work and didn't want to wake Quinn. Of course, she didn't normally have a screaming match with her wife that sent their daughters running away in tears either.

Turning onto her side, she saw the flat black box sitting on her desk and felt frustration boil up inside her. She silently cursed her friend; Daria had sworn to her that she would be able to make it. All the planning—the dinner reservations, the dancing, the hotel room—all ruined because Daria picked this weekend to get her boyfriend sick.

Jane gave the black box a last look and was about to turn away from her desk, when she noticed her door begin to slowly inch open. Silhouetted in the doorway was a figure a few inches short of four feet tall with a messy head of hair that nearly made up the difference. Jane sighed and sat up on the couch. "Lizzy, what are you doing?"

Lizzy jumped at her mother's voice, letting out a small "Eep!" Composing herself, she pouted and said, "You were supposed to be asleep."

Jane chuckled and shook her head. "I'm pretty sure you are too. Come here munchkin," she said affectionately, patting the space next to her on the couch.

Lizzy complied, walking over to the couch and climbing up next to Jane. Looking up at her mother, she asked, "How did you know it was me?"

Jane ruffled Lizzy's hair and explained, "Well, there are only two munchkins in the house, and your sister would never let her hair get this out of control." The hand working through her daughter's red hair hit a clump of something sticky and Jane stopped. "Lizzy, why do you have—" she sniffed her hand "— _peanut butter_ in your hair?" Jane asked, a hint of irritation in her voice.

"That's… Um… Darn it, you're ruining the plan Momma Jane!"

"Plan?" Jane asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Lizzy started to fidget. "Um… I mean…" Without warning, she lept off the couch and started running for the door.

Jane sighed, unable to suppress a smile as she took off after her daughter.

 

* * *

 

Quinn carried Lacey carefully through the living room towards Jane's studio, dodging the debris as best she could. She instinctively clutched her daughter closer when a small figure shot out of the hallway, hopped through the room, and dashed out the back door. Relaxing her grip, Quinn turned to Lacey with a tired smile and said, "Well, I think we found your sister."

Lacey pointed as a taller lanky form appeared and followed the same path, stumbling over several of the spots the first figure had avoided. "And Momma Jane too."

Quinn sighed. "I guess we better go find out what they're doing, huh?" When Lacey nodded, Quinn began to carefully pick her way towards the open back door.

 

* * *

 

Jane wasn't sure what she was expecting to find when she caught up with her daughter, but it certainly wasn't the patio table draped in a table cloth with juice boxes, a platter of sandwiches, two plates, and the flowers from the kitchen sitting on top. The early 2000's pop music coming from the docked tablet only raised further questions. Her musings on the spectacle were cut short when Quinn walked up from behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. Turning, she saw her wife smiling.

"I think they got us again, Jane," Quinn said, setting Lacey down.

"I told you they were sneaky," Jane replied playfully, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth. "Wait, Quinn, I didn't mean–"

Quinn let out a tired sigh. "It's fine Jane. Let's just get the girls back to bed, clean this up, and get some sleep. "Turning to the yard she yelled, "Elizabeth Anastasia Lane-Morgendorffer come out this instant or so help me you will not be leaving the house until you're in middle school!"

Almost instantly, Lizzy appeared from around the table, eyes downcast and teary. Words tumbled unchecked out of her mouth, "I'm sorry Momma Quinn. It's all my fault. I made Lacey help me. I was just scared you and Momma Jane were gonna get divorced."

Quinn's face immediately softened. She knelt down and pulled Lacey into a tight hug. "Sweetie, Momma Jane and I just had a fight. Sometimes even people who love each other fight when they're having a bad day, but it doesn't mean we're getting a divorce."

Jane knelt down next to Quinn, putting one arm around her wife and using the other to pull Lacey into the family embrace. "That's right. I love your mom and you two little munchkins; I couldn't live without any of you."

"So, you're not getting divorced?" Lizzy asked hopefully.

"No, sweetie," Quinn said reassuringly.

"And we're not in trouble?" Lacey asked.

Quinn pulled back from the embrace and shot the older twin an amused look. "Oh no, you're definitely in trouble, but we'll talk about that in the morning."

Jane stood up and stretched. "Speaking of morning, it's getting pretty late. Why don't you clean the girls up and put them to bed, while I clean up out here?"

Quinn stood and gave Jane a quick peck on the cheek. "Okay. Come back to bed when you're done. It's lonely without you."

 

* * *

 

For the second time in one night, Quinn was shaken awake. This time however, the hands were much larger and the voice deeper.

"Quinn, wake up," Jane whispered.

"Jane?" Quinn asked, head still fuzzy with sleep. Glancing at the alarm clock, she groaned. "It's after midnight."

"Come on, it's not like we weren't planning to be up this late tonight anyway," Jane argued.

Quinn pushed Jane back and sat up with an exasperated sigh. There was no reasoning with her when she was like this. Quinn resigned herself to going along with whatever her wife had in mind, deciding to make Jane deal with the girls and the living room in the morning while she caught up on the sleep she was being deprived of. Standing up, she asked, "Alright, where are we going?"

Jane smiled. "Just follow me." She took Quinn's hand and led the way down a path that had been cleared through the living room, towards the back door.

"Jane, did you not clean up outside?" Quinn asked, an edge of irritation in her voice.

"Just trust me," Jane replied, opening the door.

Quinn's jaw nearly dropped. The outside lights had been turned off, but candles illuminated the table. The sandwiches, plates, and flowers remained; but the music had been changed to a more subtle romantic mix, and the grape juice had been replaced with two glasses and a bottle of her favorite wine. Lastly, there was a jewelry box sitting in front of one of the chairs. Jane walked up to the chair and pulled it out. Quinn stood staring for a moment longer, before realizing she should probably sit down.

Jane pushed in Quinn's chair and took her own seat across from her. "What do you think? The munchkins had the right idea, but aren't quite old enough to pull it off yet."

"Jane, this is amazing," Quinn said reverently. She gestured at the black box in front of her. "Is this?"

"I was going to surprise you with it at dinner," Jane said, then looked at the sandwiches and chuckled. "I guess I still did."

"Can I open it?" Quinn asked eagerly. She was never good at waiting for gifts.

"Well, I didn't buy it so you could look at the box."

Quinn smiled at Jane's response. They'd changed a lot over the years, grown up, but Jane was still Jane. She wouldn't have it any other way. Carefully, she opened the box and looked inside. Her eyes lit up; Jane didn't wear much jewelry herself, but she had an artist's taste. A beautiful pearl necklace sat couched in the box's lining, an _expensive_ pearl necklace. It certainly didn't cost tens of thousands, but it was more than they could afford to spend on something like this. She faced her wife with a conflicted look and said, "Jane, this is beautiful, but we can't–"

"Remember that show in Boston that I shipped a few pieces to?"

Quinn nodded. A friend of Jane's from college who ran a big gallery had an artist drop out before a show. He had called Jane and asked her if she could send in some of her work. Jane hadn't said anything, but Quinn could tell she was happy to have her work in a real gallery again. She still painted, but so much of her time was taken up by the girls and her design job that she didn't always have time to really focus on that side of things.

"They all sold!" Jane exclaimed with a laugh. "Every last one! I had the extra money, so I wanted to get you something nice."

Quinn opened her mouth to protest, but Jane cut her off, "And don't say it should go to the girls; the rest is going in their college accounts, but I should be allowed to do something nice for my wife every once in a while too."

Quinn lifted the necklace out of the box and held it against her chest. It was perfect. "Thank you Jane. I really don't deserve you. And congratulations!"

Jane popped the cork on the wine and poured them each a glass. "Don't say that."

"Congratulations?"

Jane shook her head. "That you don't deserve me."

Quinn downed her wine and set the empty glass down on the table. She turned to look out over the pool and said, "Sometimes I don't think I do. You said I was turning into my mother, but that's not it. I'm turning into my dad. Look at how I acted today. I flipped out. I started a screaming fight with you in front of the girls. And why? Because I had a bad day? Because my sister flaked? It's not okay Jane."

Jane reached across the table and grabbed Quinn's hand. "You're not Jake. Neither of us is perfect." Jane let go of Quinn's hand and leaned back in her chair." You weren't wrong when you said I wasn't paying enough attention. They could have really hurt themselves."

"They didn't though. They're smart girls," Quinn said, pouring herself another glass and taking a drink.

"Too smart," Jane said with a chuckle. She stared at the glass of wine in her hand. After taking a sip, she said, "I was lying awake on that couch for a long time before before Lizzy came in. I felt terrible; about what I said to you, what you said that was true about me, that we said it all in front of the girls. When she came though, I didn't give up. She actually cheered me up, and I wanted to keep trying for her."

Quinn smiled. "They are amazing, aren't they?"

Jane nodded, taking another sip of her wine. As she did, a song that didn't quite sound like the rest of the mix came on. Jane quickly put her glass down and stood. She walked around the table to Quinn and extended her hand. "May I have this dance?"

Quinn looked at her wife quizzically, then something about what was playing caught her ear; it seemed familiar. "Wait is this?"

Jane grinned. "The one from your prom. Our first dance, although I doubt Ms. Li will try to chase us off our patio."

Quinn giggled. She took Jane's hand and allowed herself to be led to an empty area of the patio. Jane wrapped her arms around Quinn's waist and Quinn circled hers around Jane's neck. They danced like teenagers, just swaying in place and holding each other tightly. Quinn lay her head against Jane's shoulder and closed her eyes. "I love you, Jane."

Jane pulled Quinn closer and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too."

**Author's Note:**

> I am not dead,
> 
> This one was inspired by some Daria fan art of Jane and Quinn. It was actually started quite a while ago, as in February of 2016. Yeah, I was stuck for a while. The ending feels a bit rushed, but if I make it longer, it seems to drag.
> 
> Quinn and Jane are an interesting couple. I think I'll probably revisit them in the future, specifically when they were young and how they got together.
> 
> Anyway, sorry for not putting anything out for a while. School, depression, general laziness; you know the drill. I'm planning on getting a sequel to Mask written by the end of the year, but we'll see.
> 
> As always, thanks for reading. Comments are appreciated, but really, just reading my stuff is cool of you.


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